Re: Sollya not thriving
Nancy wrote:
>Why might my Sollya heterophylla plants not be thriving? They are in
>alkaline soil (about 7.3), they're in the shade of Deodora cedars, they've
>been in the ground for 3 or 4 years. They get some filtered sun, especially
>in the afternoon.
>
>One plant is doing fairly well, and the others are about the same size they
>were when planted. Could I be watering too much, not enough? Should they be
>kept dry in the summer?
I've grown this in a rich, moist but well drained, moderately acid
soil (ph 6.1)and it romped away - well as much as you could expect
any Sollya to 'romp'. It really seems to prefer moderately cool
conditions and although tolerant of quite a lot of heat, appears to do
much of its growing when temperatures drop in late summer/early
autumn. Although I don't consider it to be especially acid-loving, it
certainly does not appear to do well in alkaline soils in this country
at least.
Now I'll sit back and wait for a stream of folks who grow immense
specimens on parched, chalk soils without an ounce of humus to come
forward <G>.
Dave Poole
TORQUAY UK
